Map shows what immigrant population is tops in your Metro Vancouver neighbourhood

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      A new map produced by a group of Richmond-based real-estate agents provides a colourful picture of immigrant neighbourhoods in Metro Vancouver.

      Taking data from the National Household Survey (which was last conducted in 2011), the map assigns colours that denote the largest immigrant population living in any one area.

      Many neighbourhoods are dominated by immigrant populations one likely expects they would be. For example, much of North Vancouver is light green for Iran, South Vancouver is red for China, Richmond is split between China and yellow for the Philippines, Surrey goes dark green for India, and so on.

      But other areas show more surprising results. For example, Sunset Beach has been assigned light green for Mexico, part of Coquitlam shows orange for a large Romanian population, and the United Kingdom’s blue holds a large section of Langley.

      A map relying on 2011 census data provides a snapshot of which immigrant populations hold a majority in neighbourhoods throughout Metro Vancouver.
      Estate Block

      Note that it doesn’t necessarily take a significant percentage of a neighbourhood’s population to come from one nation of origin for the neighbourhood to take that nation’s colour.

      For example, a block of the map described as “Central Hastings” is marked red for China, but when you hover your mouse over that region for details, it shows that only 5.8 percent of Central Hastings is of Chinese origin. So even though Central Hastings is technically predominantly Chinese, it would be more accurate to describe its population as highly diverse. “Robson” is another example. It’s marked yellow for the Philippines, even though a cursor rollover reveals only 2.2 percent of people living in the Robson area are Filipino in origin.

      Also note the map does not assign a colour for neighbourhoods where the majority is comprised of people who were born in Canada.

      The resource is available at EstateBlock.com, a website with contact information that leads back to Royal Pacific Riverside Realty. 

      Comments

      12 Comments

      Wow.

      May 22, 2015 at 12:36pm

      Excellent map. I don't like the cultural imbalance.

      Craig

      May 22, 2015 at 1:04pm

      It is so cool to re-explore city. Awesome map.

      UK

      May 22, 2015 at 2:18pm

      Confused about Stanley Park demographic. Didn't think anyone lived in the Park... unless this refers to squatters?

      Mitch

      May 22, 2015 at 4:09pm

      Through their choice of language and colouring, the Realtors have provided ample opportunity to create confusion and misinformation about ethnic make up of Vancouver neighbourhoods.

      Sectors of the map are coloured red or yellow or whatever, indicating "the largest immigrant group" in each neighbourhood, but a mouse over indicates that the indicated cultural group is sometimes as low as 4-6% of the total population and only in one instance I found approached 50%. The colouring would lead people to believe that most people living in that area were of one ethnic group when in fact less than 1 in 20 residents might be of that ethnicity. As t stands the map is pretty much useless in understanding the ethnic makeup of Vancouver neighbourhoods.

      wowzer

      May 22, 2015 at 9:26pm

      I don't see any Romanian's in Coquitlam, just in North Burnaby. The article is somewhat misleading.

      FN

      May 23, 2015 at 1:07pm

      Weird information about our parks! UK squatters prefer Stanley Park, the Dutch have occupied Golden Ears Park, and forests above the North Shore mountains are full of homeless Chinese. Who knew? I wonder what other useful information these Richmond realtors are distributing.

      we all started out in africa

      May 23, 2015 at 10:23pm

      or as fish and evolved to have different colours and features... eventually we'll all devolve into one set of colours and features... it will interesting to see how we look in 3015...

      Relevant Data

      May 24, 2015 at 10:37am

      Before Expo 86 there would be no red, yellow or pink on this map.

      JohnCan

      May 24, 2015 at 9:56pm

      This article, like almost every other on the topic, neglects the biggest ethnic group of all - the English!

      I see them all over. Oh sure they’ve been here a generation or two, but they maintain their distinctiveness and strongly influence how our community looks and feels. Several prominent places in the lower mainland are named for places in England. Street names too, and whenever I’m on the bus I’m always hearing their language. Try to find a sign in a public space anywhere in this town that doesn’t have at least a bit of English on it. Then turn on the radio - what do you hear? English music. They’ve got their churches too, not two or three of them but lots. You can’t underestimate the prominence of this ethnicity in all corners of our society. Even in the government you can find English symbols and images of their monarch.

      Now don’t get me wrong because some of my best friends are English-Canadians, but sometimes I think these people run the whole country.

      Soooo wish it was still Expo86...

      May 25, 2015 at 11:29am

      Yayyyy, no wonder the culture sucks here... /cry